Surely you jest.

I prefer to do no mind mapping on the iPhone, even though most iPad apps are “universal” ones that also run on an iPhone without extra cost.

According to Answers.com, the phrase “Surely you jest” originated in the earliest 1960s sitcom “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” I remember watching the show as a tween (before the phrase tween was used) and the actor (Bob Denver) who later played Gilligan in the famous sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” was Dobie Gillis’ foil (a model for Richie and the Fonz in Happy Days). The line was frequently uttered by the character Chamber Chatsworth Osbourne, Jr. From my childhood I think the phrase was used often by one of the Hanna-Barbera characters (probably Yogi Bear) but I can find no reference to that on the Internet. I do have a complete collection of Yogi Bear cartoons on my computer but I am not going to watch them just for the purpose of showing that I can still remember my childhood even if I have forgotten what I watched on television this morning.

“Surely you jest and don’t call me Shirley” is from the 1980 movie “Airplane.”

Are you out of your mind?

Perhaps you could use a mind map program on the iPhone or an Android phone if you have the eyesight of Superwoman or Superman or the suit of Ironman. Otherwise go out and buy a FULL-sized iPad or Android tablet. Or even better, use your Mac with a huge desk monitor attached.

Seriously, there are two programs which may work ok for you to draw very simple mind maps on the iPhone. I am quite sure that iMindMap is the best on the iPhone and that iThoughts is acceptable, although not as close to iMindMap in overall usefulness on this platform as on the iPad. Do note that if you choose to purchase either of these apps for an iPad, it is an universal app and will also work on your iPhone without extra cost.

I actually do use an iPhone at times to make mind maps, but in that I case I limit the development to the main ideas of maps. When I get within sniffing distance of a real computer (Mac or iPad), I can mail myself the draft map setup and open it in the corresponding mind map program on one of the big-screen machines in order to further develop and format the map.

“and don’t call me Shirley.”

These comments were made based on my experience with the iPhone 5. With either of the new iPhone 6 models, the usefulness of the two “best” programs is marginally better.